The Canary has discovered – if that’s the word for something we all already know – that people with long-term illnesses and disabilities – disabled benefit claimants faced a huge increase in media attacks in 2024.

These attacks were politically motivated – by which I mean that they were prompted not by statistical information from independent sources, but by falsehoods fed to the media by government politicians.

The Canary research concentrated on just three media outlets – the Telegraph, the Times and the Daily Mail. It found that their coverage of disability rocketed by 1132 per cent in 2024.

Coverage focuses on

• Attacking people claiming ‘disability benefits’ like PIP and DLA, and those claiming the health-related component of other working-age income-based benefits. These obviously included benefits like Universal Credit’s limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) group, and ESA’s support group entitlements. Arguably, the latter corresponded with the then Conservative government’s move to abolish the WCA.
• Sickness. So-called ‘sickness benefits’, ‘long-term sickness’, and ‘sick note culture’ came up often. People newly disabled in the fallout from the pandemic have been ripe for the corporate media’s abuse. And it shows in the figures.
• A term that even the right-wing dishonourable (see WASPI women betrayal for one) Liz Kendall was loathe to use, before she and her department proceeded to bandy it about anyway. That is, ‘economic inactivity’, or ‘economically inactive’. This is of course in spite of the fact that disabled people who are not working are very much still economically active – since they still spend to participate in  daily life.

Frequent themes were

• The need for a ‘crackdown’ on claimants (9.7%)

There is no need for a crackdown on benefit claimants.

• The ‘benefits bill’/ cost to the taxpayer and UK economy (8.7%)

If the cost of benefits has risen, it is because political policies have cause more people to become ill or disabled.

• Fraud or abuse of the welfare system (6.7%)

There is no fraud or abuse in the disability benefit system. Recent checks showed the amount of fraud or abuse at 0 per cent.

Other notable narratives included:

• Rates of so-called ‘worklessness’ or ‘economic inactivity’ (8.1%)

That is a political issue for which blame should not be conferred on the victims.

• People being better off on benefits, or benefits too generous (4.5%)

This is simply not true – or certainly not in the vast majority of cases. Benefits are set at levels that are far below what people need in order to live comfortably. Trust This Writer on this!

• and immigration (4%).

This is the claim that immigrants – particularly those who come here in small boats – have whopping great wodges of cash thrown at them. It’s bollocks.

“Unsurprisingly, politicians and their advisers drove a significant proportion of the three outlets’ coverage of stories directly focusing on disability benefits, benefits more broadly, and unemployment. The Canary identified a total of 50 articles [out of something like 227] which comprised largely of policy announcements and plans, or comments from current politicians.”

So now you know.

Next time you hear a story attacking disabled people, check which politician started it and that should tell you how big the lie is.

Source: Disabled benefit claimants subject to huge media attacks in 2024

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